Oh no. I have my 2nd appt today. Same tooth, other side. The first one stopped hurting but now hurts again. I guess I'll never eat pain free again? And the dentist said something vague and unhelpful about my jaw pain. And I'm pretty convinced this is the best dental practice in the area.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

Soooooo I had a busy busy morning. I dropped the kid off at a holiday party with the friend who said she'd watch her and I departed. I was running a few minutes late so I called and told them I was running late but on my way and I would be there. I got there, she tells me I'm 20 minutes late (it was rainy and traffic-y) and they'll have to reschedule. Of course they made me wait like 25 minutes for my first appointment but whatever. I wonder if it's divine intervention telling me to return to the dentist I liked when I lived an hour away.

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

My name is Ritchie King and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm currently working on a story about micro-cavities (and their possible overtreatment) and I'm looking for somebody who has had a micro-cavity experience that they would be willing to talk about. (your name could remain anonymous, of course)

I've been having some discomfort and pain on one side of my mouth lately, so I'm finally making a dentist appointment for early next week. I haven't gone in a long time (5 years, eep!), so I'm way overdue, and I'm so nervous! I know that I need to get some work done for sure, but I don't know how much yet. I don't actually mind the dentist so much as the needles they use, so that's actually the only part I'm really worried about. But the clinic I'm going to go to does sedation dentistry, so it looks like they might be pretty good about ridiculously terrified clients. Wish me luck!

_________________when you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt you head back and laugh at the sky. -buddha

Just think of it this way - your pain and the underlying issue will not magically going to cure itself or go away. The sooner you get your issue taken care of, the less traumatic the procedure will need to be.

Best of luck!

_________________"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave" - Mahatma Gandhi

I've been having some discomfort and pain on one side of my mouth lately, so I'm finally making a dentist appointment for early next week. I haven't gone in a long time (5 years, eep!), so I'm way overdue, and I'm so nervous! I know that I need to get some work done for sure, but I don't know how much yet. I don't actually mind the dentist so much as the needles they use, so that's actually the only part I'm really worried about. But the clinic I'm going to go to does sedation dentistry, so it looks like they might be pretty good about ridiculously terrified clients. Wish me luck!

Have you heard about curing tooth decay naturally? It is based off of Weston A. Price's research. He is very meat-friendly, but there are recommendations for vegans. I have found my teeth to be more sensitive in the past few months and am starting to implement some of the vegan ideas. Just ignore the anti-vegan tone.:)http://www.curetoothdecay.com/Tooth_Dec ... _vegan.htmYour dentist probably means there are weak spots on your teeth that could turn into cavities. By remineralizing your teeth, these will go away.

The thing that remineralizes your teeth is fluoride. Just brush with real toothpaste and see a dentist regularly and you'll be fine. Try not to worry about Weston Price, who is full of crepe at the best of times.

If fluoride remineralizes, why does almost everyone have cavities? I don't agree with most of what Price says, but I do believe teeth can remineralize in the appropriate conditions. I just wanted to throw it out there as another option. It's cheaper than a dentist and nothing unhealthy about it.

To be clear, I never said no fluoride. It just isn't the answer to prevent all tooth decay. I still use fluoride toothpaste, but that's not the whole picture when looking for healthy teeth. What you eat absolutely affects your teeth. The health of your teeth is a good indicator of the health of your body. Mock me if it makes you feel better about yourself. You can disagree with me, but it doesn't make YOU right.

1. Fluoride is good at remineralizing enamel, not the rest of your tooth2. Lack of community water fluoridation 3. Poor oral hygiene (biofilm) 4. Sugar intake5. Type of bacteria present in your mouth 6. Lack of knowledge about oral hygiene7. Lack of resources to care for teeth ($$ for toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, seeing a dentist/hygienist, time off work to see a dentist/hygienist)8. Obviously not everyone uses fluoride9. Fluoride is good at remineralizing the smooth surfaces of teeth, not the rough chewing surfaces10. You get bacteria in your mouth as a baby from your mother, so mother's oral health as well 11. Access to care and diagnosis (if you have untreated cavities, you are likely to get more cavities) 12. Lack of use of fluoride varnish by physicians in children under 3 years old

I could go on, but it seems pointless, you seem like the type that likes to disagree. I thought others would find the list interesting though.

I've had a cavity in this tooth for a while but I was putting off going to the dentist until next semester (I'm not in school over the summer so I'm pretty sure I"m not covered by my school's insurance), but today my tooth broke, like a fair sized chunk just broke off.

I called mom and she said she'd foot the bill and call my dentist (he's out of town but I like him, he doesn't overcharge and he's super sweet). It doesn't hurt at all so I'm hoping the root isn't harmed, but it feels so weird and the dentin is exposed and I'm freaking out that this'll cost us an arm and a leg to fix. Thankfully its one of my molars so if it comes down to it that its much cheaper to pull it out, its feasible.

_________________I was really surprised the first time I saw a penis. After those banana tutorials, I was expecting something so different. -Tofulish

I had a bunch of cavities filled earlier this week and my tongue is still numb. The dentist said the numbness could last for up to six weeks. Now I remember why I hate the dentist.

Weird! Was it the dose he gave you, or are different people sensitive to it I wonder? I remember my old dentist used to dose me so much that my whole face would feel numb hours later and my tongue would be numb for days. But when I went to the dentist last week my tongue was fine the whole time, it was just my teeth, gums and lips that went numb for two or three hours.

Also I found out afterwards that even though I'm not in class over the summer, my school still covered tooth extraction. Bad thing was another huge chunk broke off so only dentin was left by the time I got to the dentist, and it was so mushy and damaged there was nothing to be done except pull it. Luckily it doesn't look bad, you can't see it unless I smile really really wide, and my wisdoms are still trying to squeeze in so I'm hoping the gap will be closed soon. He direct billed insurance, and my copay was 20%, so in the end it was only 18 dollars. I haven't visited in years so I was also afraid he'd find way more cavities, but all my other teeth are perfectly fine, thank god.

The hole where the tooth was itches bad, and I feel like I have a phantom toothache at times.

_________________I was really surprised the first time I saw a penis. After those banana tutorials, I was expecting something so different. -Tofulish